Siblings POV
A flicker of surprise crossed Prometheus' features, but his ever-present obedience prevailed. "As you command, my Lord," he bowed. A spark of intrigue glinted in his eyes as he hurried away.
With a deep breath, I braced myself. It was time to face my firstborn.
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[Hestia POV]
An unsettling quiet had settled over the cavern since Hades retreated for his transformation. Gone were the sounds of his focused practice, the steady hum of his power as he honed his abilities. Demeter and I missed his presence, a familiar rhythm now absent in our daily lives. This absence, however, spurred us on. We trained with renewed vigor, pushing our powers to their limits. Demeter, once content with tending to her gardens, now channeled her essence into real growth, conjuring vibrant flowers and verdant vines across the cavern walls.
Our newfound determination was bolstered by the arrival of two more siblings. Hera, radiating an air of entitlement, and the youngest, Poseidon, a boisterous ball of chaotic energy. Their arrival shattered the peace. Petty arguments erupted over the most trivial things: Poseidon's booming laughter interrupting Hera's "beauty sleep" (which consisted mostly of staring at her reflection in a puddle), or Demeter's meticulously crafted flower arrangements being demolished by Poseidon's enthusiastic training sessions. Just as I rose to intervene in one such squabble, a tremor shook the cavern.
A deafening roar echoed through the tunnels, resonating with a raw power that sent shivers down my spine. The very air crackled with a dark, suffocating pressure. I stumbled, unable to hold my ground against its force. Fear, sharp and primal, clawed at my throat. This power… it couldn't be… but it was. The same chilling aura I had felt from Hades pulsed through the cavern, amplified a thousandfold.
My fear was quickly replaced by a surge of exhilaration. Hades had done it. He had achieved the second stage of his divinity. The power emanating from him was terrifying, yet awe-inspiring.
I cast a worried glance around my siblings. Demeter, was trembling like a leaf caught in a storm. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she fought to remain upright against the oppressive weight. Poseidon, the boisterous and brash newcomer, was a different story. He knelt on one knee, his face contorted in a struggle I hadn't witnessed before. Every muscle in his body seemed to scream in protest, but his chin remained stubbornly high. This was no small feat – he had only recently unlocked his own divinity, and here he was, resisting the power of a monarch.
Hera, ever the enigma, surprised me most. One moment she was bickering with Poseidon, the next she lay sprawled unconscious on the cavern floor. Unlike Demeter and Poseidon, who battled the pressure head-on, Hera seemed to have simply succumbed to its overwhelming force.
The display didn't last long. As suddenly as it began, the pressure vanished, leaving a thick, unsettling silence in its wake. I looked at my siblings, expecting a similar reaction. Demeter, ever curious, cast a questioning glance my way. But it was Poseidon's reaction that sent a shiver down my spine. He rose to his feet, red-rimmed eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and something else… inquiry? His gaze locked with mine, a silent question hanging in the air.
[Demeter POV]
Fury choked my voice as I surveyed the wreckage of my carefully crafted garden. Poseidon, oblivious to my simmering anger, continued his boisterous training session. "Poseidon!" I roared, my frustration finally boiling over. "I told you to be more mindful! These gardens don't just appear out of thin air!"
He glanced at the scattered flowers and overturned soil with a careless shrug. "It's not like you can't just make them again, Demeter," he retorted. "Besides, why are you so fixated on growing things in this dusty, cramped cave anyway? I can't even train properly in here!"
A pang of sympathy stabbed at me. Unlike the rest of us, confined to honing our abilities within the cavern walls, Poseidon's powers were inextricably linked to the vast, open seas. The cavern's very nature offered a constant resistance to his control over water.
"I understand your frustration," I conceded, my voice softening. "But this is our home for now. We have to make do with what we have."
Just as I contemplated a compromise, a shrill voice sliced through the tension. "Could you two please take your bickering elsewhere?" Hera drawled, sprawled languidly on her makeshift throne. "You're disturbing my beauty sleep."
The audacity of this brat!
Before I could unleash a retort worthy of a scorned harvest goddess, Poseidon let out a frustrated roar. "Shut up, Hera! We're trying to have a conversation here!"
The cavern walls trembled with his booming voice. Then, in the blink of an eye, the world shuddered. A deafening roar echoed through the tunnels, resonating with a raw power that sent shivers down my spine. The very air crackled with a dark, suffocating pressure. It was a presence unlike anything I'd ever felt – cold, primal, and radiating a chilling aura of decay and death.
My carefully cultivated plants withered and died instantly, their vibrant colors replaced by a sickly gray. I gasped, the breath knocked out of my lungs by the sheer force of the unseen power. Fear, sharp and primal, clawed at my throat.
The pressure, intense as it was sudden, vanished in an instant. The cavern fell silent, heavy with the aftermath. I slumped against the wall, heart hammering against my ribs.
A nervous glance at Hestia revealed a similar look of astonishment on her face. Yet, unlike me, her gaze wasn't focused inward. It darted towards a specific spot, her brow furrowed in worry.
Following her gaze, I landed on Poseidon. He stood rigid, face pale, red-rimmed eyes fixed on a point in the distance. His earlier arrogance was replaced by a mixture of awe and… fear?
Slowly, a realization dawned on me. The source of the terrifying power, the suffocating aura – it emanated from Hades. He had undergone his transformation, and judging by the raw, untamed power unleashed, it had been successful… perhaps a little too successful.
"Elder brother?" I whispered, the words tasting unfamiliar on my tongue. My voice barely registered amidst the oppressive silence.
Hestia cast me a worried glance before turning back to Poseidon.
[Poseidon POV]
The roar ripped through the cavern, a primal scream that resonated deep within my bones. A crushing pressure slammed down, stealing the breath from my lungs and forcing me to my knees. My muscles screamed in protest, every fiber straining against the invisible weight. This wasn't some measly cavern wall resisting my water manipulation – this was a force unlike anything I'd ever encountered.
The world dissolved into red haze around the edges of my vision. Shame burned through me. Here I was, a newly awakened god, brought low by… what? This presence felt ancient, cold, and laced with a horrifying emptiness, like the touch of death itself.
Then, with a sigh that seemed to shake the very foundations of the cavern, the pressure vanished. I gasped, sucking in a ragged breath that scraped against my raw throat. My body ached, a dull throb echoing every strained muscle. Shame turned to a cold, prickling fear. What had happened?
My hoarse voice, rough from the struggle and lack of air, croaked a question at Hestia. Even in the dim light, I could tell she hadn't experienced the same ordeal. Her brow furrowed in concern, her gaze fixed on something beyond me. I didn't know much about Hades, having only heard whispers from Demeter about his secluded training. This, however, felt connected to him somehow.
"What was that?" I rasped, the words catching in my throat.
Hestia turned to me, her eyes holding a depth I couldn't decipher. "It was Hades," she said simply.
The name hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. "Hades?" I echoed, the question barely a whisper. "What… what do you mean?"
Hestia sighed, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice. "It seems Hades has successfully ascended," she began, her words carrying a weight that resonated in the cavern's silence. "He's become… a monarch."
Frustration gnawed at me. This cryptic conversation, these terms I didn't understand – it fueled the anger simmering beneath the surface. I hadn't had the luxury of leisurely discussions about power stages or whatever they were talking about. Since awakening my own divinity, I'd been consumed by mastering it, by pushing my control over the seas to its very limits.
"Why am I only hearing about this now?" I snapped, my voice cracking with anger.
Hestia's eyes narrowed. "Because, unlike Demeter and I, you haven't exactly been the picture of patience," she retorted. "You awakened your power, then stormed off to train, leaving any attempts at explanation in the dust. The only time you were 'free' was when you were passed out from exhaustion."
A pang of guilt lanced through me. Hestia was right. Blinded by the thrill of my newfound abilities, I hadn't stopped to listen, hadn't bothered to understand the bigger picture. Shamefaced, I mumbled an apology.
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Chapter Length- 1,467 Words
Author's Message: Hades has now grown as a god in both character and strength and this chapter was to just give an introduction on the personalities of Hera and Poseidon. Hades will soon have a confrontation with his father and the reason why Cronus has the power of a god king will be explained in the later chapters.